6/8/2020

Electromagnetics:
Microwave Engineering

Using tlcalc()

Outline

• The Short Story
• Using tlcalc.p to Analyze Transmission Lines
• Convergence
• Hints
• Benchmarking Examples

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The Short Story

[Z0,n,L,C,V,Ex,Ey] = tlcalc(ER,C1,C2,dx,dy,1);

Using tlcalc.p to Analyze 
Transmission Lines

Slide 4

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tlcalc() (1 of 2)
tlcalc Transmission Line Calculator

[Z0,n,L,C,V,Ex,Ey] = tlcalc(ER,C1,C2,dx,dy,tltype);

This MATLAB function calculates the properties of an

arbitrary transmission.

ER is a 2D array describing the relative permittivity.

C1 is a 2D array identifying the points of conductor 1.
C2 is a 2D array identifying the points of conductor 2.
C2 is ground for single-ended transmission lines.
dx and dy are the grid resolution parameters.
tltype is either 1=single-ended or 2=differential

For single-ended lines, C1 is set to 1 V and C2 is set to 0 V.

For differential lines, C1 is set to 0.5 V and C2 is set to -0.5 V.
For both line types, the outer edges of the grid are set to 0 V.

Electromagnetic Field Theory

Prof. Raymond C. Rumpf
EM Possible
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Number Values for Inputs

Permittivity Function Conductor #1 Conductor #2

1   r  x, y    0  dielectric 0  dielectric
1  metal 1  metal
r should be purely real.
Array should be all 0’s  Array should be all 0’s 
Loss is not handled in  except 1’s in the  except 1’s in the 
this model. positions that describe  positions that describe 
the first conductor. the second conductor.
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Grid Resolution

Pick the smallest dimension and 
resolve this with at least 5 to 10 points.

dx = w/10;
dy = dx;

Space Around Transmission Line

Add enough space between transmission line and the 
boundary to ensure the electric field decays   3w
Rule of Thumb:
sufficiently.  Remember, Dirichlet boundary conditions  Keep at least three line widths of 
were used and so the electric potential at the edge of  space around the transmission line.
the grid is forced to zero.
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Thickness of Conductors
Conductors are usually very thin (20‐50 micrometers).

This is not usually feasible to resolve in this simple analysis tool.

Just make the conductors one cell thick, unless the line has very thick conductors.

One cell thick

Single‐Ended Vs. Differential Transmission Lines
Single‐Ended (Unbalanced) Differential (Balanced)

+ + +
Vin Vout
‐ ‐ ‐

coaxial microstrip buried parallel  coplanar strips

plate

stripline coplanar
shielded pair slotline

tlcalc(ER,C1,C2,dx,dy,1); tlcalc(ER,C1,C2,dx,dy,2);
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Convergence

Slide 11

What Needs to Be Evaluated for Convergence?
Spacer Regions – How much space should you put around your transmission line?

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What Needs to Be Evaluated for Convergence?
Grid Resolution – How finely should the transmission line be resolved (i.e. Δ𝑥 and Δ𝑦)?

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Convergence Behavior of Spacer Regions

Converged
at 8 mm

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Convergence Behavior of Grid Resolution

Converged
at NRES ~ 30

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Hints

Slide 16

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Scalability

Transmission line parameters  𝐿, 𝐶, 𝑍 , 𝛽, 𝑛 are constant regardless of scale.
Electromagnetics has no fundamental size scale!
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Benchmarking 
Examples

Slide 18

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Microstrip Transmission Line

1’s
1.93 mm
L  304.7 nH m
4.4’s C  116.8 pF m
1.38 mm
Z 0  51.1 
neff  1.7881

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Coplanar Transmission Line

1’s 1.38 mm
1 mm

2.5’s L  317.3 nH m
C  59.9 pF m
Z 0  72.8 
neff  1.3066

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Parallel Plate Transmission Line

2.85 mm
2.5’s
1.0 mm L  263.3 nH m
C  105.7 pF m
Z 0  49.9 
neff  1.5811

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Coaxial Transmission Line

2.2’s 3.2 mm

0.5 mm L  379.5 nH m
C  64.5 pF m
Z 0  76.7 
neff  1.4832

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Symmetric Stripline

4.0’s 0.9 mm L  381.1 nH m

0.36 mm
C  116.8 pF m
Z 0  57.1 
neff  2.00

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